Chapter 10

THE TRIUMPH OF WHITE MEN’S DEMOCRACY

America Past and PresentEighth Edition

Divine Breen Fredrickson Williams Gross Brand

Copyright 2007, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as LongmanCopyright 2007, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman

Democracy in Theory and Practice

• __________ became preferred description of American politics in 1820s and 1830s

• In democracy, the people were ____________________________________

• Traditional ideas of deference declined further• Equality of opportunity all important; the resulting

inequalities of reward not really considered • America became society of ________________

Democracy and Society• Egalitarian expectations despite growing

economic ___________• No distinctive _______________ class• No class distinctions in dress• Economic gap widened between propertied and

labor classes; this was overlooked because legal equality of all white men still radical by European standards

• Egalitarian attack on licensed professions like medicine

• Popular press was the source of information and opinion

Democratic Culture

• Artists’ audience was broad citizenry of democracy, not ____________

• Romanticism in America appealed to feelings and intuitions of ordinary Americans

• Popular ___________sensationalized– Genres included Gothic horror and romantic fiction– Much popular literature written by and for women – Melodrama dominated popular theater

Democratic Culture• By 1830s, subject of paintings switched from

great events and people to scenes from everyday life

• Architectural style reflected the tenets of ______________________

• Purpose of art in democratic society was to encourage virtue and proper sentiment– Landscape painters believed representations of

untamed nature would elevate popular taste and convey moral truth

• Only a few truly avant-garde, romantic artists, like __________________

Democratic Political Institutions: Politics of Universal

Male Suffrage • Most states adopted universal ________________

by the 1820s• Many appointed offices made elective• Professional politicians and stable, statewide party

organizations emerged• Politicians like _____________ promoted benefits

of two-party system– Concept of loyal opposition accepted

• Democracy spread to presidency– Most presidential electors chosen by popular vote rather state legislature by

1828 – Participation rates rose from 27% in early 1820s to ____________________

Economic Issues• Interest in government economic policy

intensified after 1819• Political activity and debate around economic

issues foreshadowed rise of parties based around economic programs

• Republican ideology from Revolution made people suspicious of groups they did not identify with or benefit from– _______________________________

• Debate over role of federal government in the economy

Labor Radicalism and Equal Rights

• Working men’s parties and trade unions emerged in the 1820s and 1830s to protect equal rights that appeared to be eroding because of low wages

• They advocated public _____________, a ten-hour workday, an end to ______________, and hard currency

• They made some gains but were set back by the Depression of 1837

• The ________________ movement and abolitionists made little progress

Jackson and the Politics of Democracy

• Jackson became a symbol of ______________________

• Actions of Jackson and his party re-fashioned national politics in a __________________

• Era known as Jacksonian Democracy

The Election of 1824 and J. Q. Adams’s Administration

• The election of 1824 a __________ race• Jackson appealed to slaveholders and

rural people opposed to Clay’s economic nationalism

• Jackson got _________ of popular and electoral vote, but not a ____________

• Adams won in House of Representatives with _________________ support

The Election of 1824 and J. Q. Adams’s Administration

• Clay’s appointment as Secretary of State led to charges of a “_______________” between Clay and Adams

• Adams ____________ anti-economic nationalism sentiment in his policies

• Mid-term election of 1826 gave ________ __________ control of Congress

• Tariff became key issue and logrolling produced “________________” in 1828

The Election of 1824

Jackson Comes to Power

• “___________” set motivation for 1828 election• Influential state leaders supported Jackson

– _____________ in South Carolina, Van Buren in New York

– Their efforts led to formation of Democratic party, first modern American party

• New electioneering techniques of mass democracy born– _________________________________, etc.

Jackson Comes to Power

• Campaign dominated by _______________ and ________________

• Jacksonians won by portraying Jackson as _____________________________

• Jackson unclear about his stands on policy issues of the day other than ______________

• Jackson’s democratic stamp on his administration– Defended “_______________” as democratic– Replaced most of cabinet because of ____________

affair

Indian Removal

• Indian removal policy inherited from prior administrations

• Jackson agreed with state complaints that federal government had not removed Indians quickly enough

• Some southern states asserted authority over Indians in their borders

• Jackson got federal government approval for state removal initiatives with _____________ ______________

• 1838—U.S. Army forced Cherokee west along the Trail of Tears

Indian Removal

The Nullification Crisis

• South opposed tariff because it increased prices for manufactured goods and endangered their access to foreign markets

• In wake of 1828 Tariff, John C. Calhoun anonymously spelled out ______________ _____________—right of an individual state to set aside state law

• Personal relations between Jackson and Calhoun soured

• 1830—Jefferson Day Dinner– ___________ “to the union—it must be preserved”– ___________ “to the union—next to our liberty, the

most dear”

The Nullification Crisis

• 1832—tariff passed, ______________ nullified• Jackson threatened to ______________ • Compromise

– Force Bill authorized Jackson to use military to enforce federal law

– Clay’s ______________________ lowered rates• Nullification foreshadowed state sovereignty

positions of the South in slavery debates

The Bank War and the Second Party System

• “___________” a symbolic defense of Jacksonian concept of democracy

• Led to two important results– Formation of opposition party to Jackson—

the _______– Economic disruption

Mr. Biddle’s Bank

• Bank of the United States unpopular, ______________________________ ___________________

• 1823 Biddle took over and restored confidence

• Jeffersonians opposed bank on principle as unconstitutional and preserve of corrupt special privilege

• Bank possessed great power and privilege with no public accountability

The Bank Veto and the Election of 1832

• _______________________________ ___________________

• On advice of Clay, Biddle sought new charter four years early in 1832

• Congress passed, but Jackson vetoed– Claimed the bank was unconstitutional– Defended veto as a blow for equality

• Jacksonian victory in 1832 spelled bank’s doom

The Election of 1832

Killing the Bank

• Jackson destroyed bank by ______________ _______________

• Funds transferred to state (“pet”) banks • Biddle used his powers to cause recession,

attempted to blame Jackson• Clay got censure of Jackson through Senate for

abusing his power (Jackson’s withdrawal of deposits from bank)

• Destruction of bank provoked fears of _______________________________________________________

The Emergence of the Whigs

• Whig party a coalition of forces, first united in censure of Jackson

– Clay and National Republicans– Webster and New England ex-Federalists– States-rights southerners– Anti-Masonic party

• Whigs defended activist government in economics, enforcement of “decency”

• Democrats opposed government regulation of morality• Democrats weakened by

– Defection of Loco-Focos faction upset over pet banks– ___________________________________________

The Rise and Fall of Van Buren

• __________________ Jackson’s handpicked successor

• Whig strategy in 1836 was to run four candidates and force election to House of Representatives; it failed

• Term began with Panic of 1837• Panic caused more by complex changes

in global economy than Jackson’s fiscal policy

The Rise and Fall of Van Buren

• ______________philosophy prevented Van Buren from helping to solve the problems of economic distress

• Van Buren attempted to save government funds with independent sub-treasuries

• Whigs blocked sub-treasuries until 1840

The Election of 1836

The Rise and Fall of Van Buren

• Whigs fully organized by 1840 • Whig candidate ___________________

– Image built of a _______________who had been born in a log cabin

– Running mate John Tyler chosen to attract votes from states-rights Democrats

• Harrison and Tyler beat Van Buren because their revival of the American system seemed like a good response

Heyday of the Second Party System

• Election of 1840 marked rise of __________ ____________________

• Whigs and Democrats evenly divided the electorate for next two decades

• Parties offered voters a clear choice– Whigs supported a “positive liberal state”:

government should support and protect industries that help economic growth

– Democrats supported “negative liberal state”: government should not interfere in economy

Heyday of the Second Party System

• _________– Industrialists, merchants, successful farmers,

more likely Protestant

• ___________– Small farmers, manufacturing, more likely

Catholic

Tocqueville’s Wisdom

• Alexis de Tocqueville praised most aspects of American democracy

• Warned of future disaster if white males refused to extend liberty to __________ ___________________________